This is that…
May 2023
The Power of the Latter Rain
“When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim.” (Judges 4:1-2)
The result was that the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.
Deborah, a Prophetess, and Judge, was a military leader in Israel. She sent for Barak to deploy ten thousand troops against Sisera, commander of the Canaanite armies of King Jabin who came to destroy Israel. Deborah declared to Barak, “The Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand.” The battle raged until all the Canaanite army fell by the sword, but Sisera fled to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber. She invited him in, gave him milk to drink, and a place to sleep.
“Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel” (See Judges 4:21-24)
In Judges, Chapter Five, Deborah and Barak sang a song of triumph. Verses 24-31 tell of the boldness of Jael and ends with: “So the land had rest for forty years.”
What does this story have to do with the power of the latter rain?
Intercession
We see in this story God’s hand of judgment coming on His nation for turning their back on Him to commit evil. We could also put it this way: when God pulls back His hand of protection on a nation, hell will fill the void with wickedness. “How far Lord, how long O Lord, will this flood of evil continue?”
Perhaps the rapture will come soon and He will remove His church. We don’t really know when. God doesn’t always share everything, not even to His prophets. But, we do know His return is in our generation. (Matthew 24:34) That clock started clicking when Israel became a nation in May 1948.
One thing is certain: Prayers of intercession are a daily requirement. God wants souls to come into His Kingdom. There seems to be an emphasis on the word “hurry.” Prayers for the lost can be uttered almost anywhere and at anytime. Many of us remember well the scriptures in 1 Timothy 2:1-7 to pray for all men because God wants all men/women to be saved!
What has intercession got to do with these stories from the Old Testament?
We know that the Prophetess spent much time in prayer and intercession for her nation. You could not speak for God without communing with Him always. And I also think the wife of the soldier must have spent much time in prayer for her husband’s safety. Certainly we can assume that when she carried the peg and hammer in her hand, as she quietly got close to Sisera, that she was inwardly calling upon God for His help.
This reminds me ... what was David thinking inwardly as he went toward the ten- foot-giant Goliath. You can’t have strong faith without prayer! He was fulfilling the words of his own mouth to take Israel’s enemy down!
All these intercessors had an inward power flowing in them. We, as born-again children of God, have been given His Holy Spirit and His power of tongues to tear down strongholds and release the greatest awakening the earth has ever seen!
The importance of fulfilling our assignment can also be historic because of earth’s time clock!
As we take our seat of dominion in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus to cast out devils and release the Kingdom of God’s mighty angelic armies, we are fulfilling Jesus’ assignment to build His church! (Matthew 16:17-19)
Since so many women are on the front lines interceding, let’s remember often the two women who rose up with great courage and boldness to intercede and save their nation: Deborah and Jael.
The power of the latter rain on earth is in you!
Whatever He tells you to do…do it! The Acts are still being recorded….
May 2023
The Power of the Latter Rain
“When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim.” (Judges 4:1-2)
The result was that the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.
Deborah, a Prophetess, and Judge, was a military leader in Israel. She sent for Barak to deploy ten thousand troops against Sisera, commander of the Canaanite armies of King Jabin who came to destroy Israel. Deborah declared to Barak, “The Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand.” The battle raged until all the Canaanite army fell by the sword, but Sisera fled to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber. She invited him in, gave him milk to drink, and a place to sleep.
“Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel” (See Judges 4:21-24)
In Judges, Chapter Five, Deborah and Barak sang a song of triumph. Verses 24-31 tell of the boldness of Jael and ends with: “So the land had rest for forty years.”
What does this story have to do with the power of the latter rain?
Intercession
We see in this story God’s hand of judgment coming on His nation for turning their back on Him to commit evil. We could also put it this way: when God pulls back His hand of protection on a nation, hell will fill the void with wickedness. “How far Lord, how long O Lord, will this flood of evil continue?”
Perhaps the rapture will come soon and He will remove His church. We don’t really know when. God doesn’t always share everything, not even to His prophets. But, we do know His return is in our generation. (Matthew 24:34) That clock started clicking when Israel became a nation in May 1948.
One thing is certain: Prayers of intercession are a daily requirement. God wants souls to come into His Kingdom. There seems to be an emphasis on the word “hurry.” Prayers for the lost can be uttered almost anywhere and at anytime. Many of us remember well the scriptures in 1 Timothy 2:1-7 to pray for all men because God wants all men/women to be saved!
What has intercession got to do with these stories from the Old Testament?
- Israel did evil in the sight of God. They left their first love. They stopped having fellowship with him. They sought worldly ways. They degraded themselves and began worshiping other gods.
- The Lord turned His nation Israel over to an evil Canaanite leader.
- Hardship brought humility and acknowledgement of sin.
- God used a Prophetess who was a Judge and military leader.
- God brought deliverance by the armies of Barak.
- God used a very bold, anointed wife of a soldier to kill an evil leader with a peg and hammer.
- Israel had peace for forty years!!!
We know that the Prophetess spent much time in prayer and intercession for her nation. You could not speak for God without communing with Him always. And I also think the wife of the soldier must have spent much time in prayer for her husband’s safety. Certainly we can assume that when she carried the peg and hammer in her hand, as she quietly got close to Sisera, that she was inwardly calling upon God for His help.
This reminds me ... what was David thinking inwardly as he went toward the ten- foot-giant Goliath. You can’t have strong faith without prayer! He was fulfilling the words of his own mouth to take Israel’s enemy down!
All these intercessors had an inward power flowing in them. We, as born-again children of God, have been given His Holy Spirit and His power of tongues to tear down strongholds and release the greatest awakening the earth has ever seen!
The importance of fulfilling our assignment can also be historic because of earth’s time clock!
As we take our seat of dominion in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus to cast out devils and release the Kingdom of God’s mighty angelic armies, we are fulfilling Jesus’ assignment to build His church! (Matthew 16:17-19)
Since so many women are on the front lines interceding, let’s remember often the two women who rose up with great courage and boldness to intercede and save their nation: Deborah and Jael.
The power of the latter rain on earth is in you!
Whatever He tells you to do…do it! The Acts are still being recorded….